By Garry Sanossian
In June this year, Colin Scott retired from the Global Mission Partners team as International Partnerships Manager (Churches of Christ Overseas Aid – COCOA). Through several roles over his 14 years of service, Colin has been crucial in partnering with ministries across Asia, Africa, and the Pacific in community development and mission.
For Colin, effective ministry within these communities has always hinged on the connection between word and deed. He said, “When people are vulnerable, if we don’t respond to their poverty in practical ways, we can’t meaningfully speak about a God who loves them. Love can’t be an abstract idea that does nothing.”
Colin’s journey with Global Mission Partners began in a very different organisational landscape to the one he leaves behind. When he joined Global Mission Partners in 2011, the organisation had the same focus was on church planting and overseas community development, but this was with many smaller partners, and Indigenous Ministries Australia had not yet begun.
As the work of Global Mission Partners changed over the years, Colin’s role was similarly dynamic. He remembers, “I think the name of my role changed three times, but in large part I was doing the same thing,” Colin reflected. “I started with the community development side (education, health and agriculture) for three days a week and spent the other days promoting our projects and ministry in churches across New South Wales.”
John Lamerton, CEO of Global Mission Partners, noted that Colin’s leadership was pivotal in gaining DFAT accreditation and securing federal funding through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program. This brought more funding, which provided more staff for the COCOA team, enabling Colin to focus more on international development work rather than promotion.
Colin (left) with Pastor Geoffrey Adroa (right) in Uganda.
While Colin’s organisational achievements were significant, it was the relationships that truly defined his work. Partners across continents became family, bound together by shared faith and purpose. “What impressed me most was the commitment, resilience and hospitality of the partners we worked with,” Colin shared. “The people in those roles have a deep vision for their communities and a passionate understanding that it’s by God’s power and grace that things happen.”
This relational approach shaped everything Colin did. “In the end, dignity and respect form the foundation of good development work – whether in Australia, South Sudan or anywhere else,” he explained. “We need to draw in those we might call marginalised or vulnerable into relationships of mutuality, seeing people as people and treating them that way.”
Colin (second from left) with South Sudanese ministry students Butros (far left), Joseph (third from left) and Gabriel (far right) in Uganda.
One area of work stood out to Colin as he reflected on his time at Global Mission Partners. Projects based in South Sudan were some of the most challenging yet rewarding partnerships he engaged with, as South Sudan is one of the world’s least developed nations, long affected by political unrest. It was there, in a country placed at the bottom of the Human Development Index, that Colin witnessed faith in its most powerful form.
Paulino, head of Christian Mercy International, became both partner and teacher to Colin and the Global Mission Partners team. No matter what crisis erupted, Paulino’s response never wavered. “Whenever anything went wrong, he was still bright and ready to do the next thing,” Colin recalled. “He always had the next project ready – often before we’d even finished funding the current one.”
As refugees fled the conflict in neighbouring Sudan and poured into South Sudan, Paulino was eager to support them. With the support of Global Mission Partners, 80 female-headed refugee households were able to plant their first crop on land allocated to them. The heavy rains that followed brought an abundant harvest for 30 families but caused flooding for 50.
Unperturbed, Paulino turned his attention to helping the 50 families who had been affected by the flooding. He worked with local chiefs to reallocate land so that everyone had some ‘highland’ which was safe from flooding and some ‘lowland’ which would have water even in dry times. With Global Mission Partners support, the 50 families went on to enjoy abundant harvests the second time around.
Working with partners like Paulino deeply inspired Colin’s faith. Despite having so little and facing constant challenges, they never stopped believing they could move forward no matter the obstacles.
After 14 years of international partnerships, Colin is embracing this season of transition as an opportunity for God to guide him toward new adventures and deeper connections with those closest to him.
Colin (centre) with his wife Taksan (right) and daughter Zoe (left).
As Colin closed this chapter at his final Global Mission Partners staff meeting, he read out a letter to colleagues, thanking those who shared the journey with him. “The last 14 years have been a joy and a privilege,” he wrote to his team. “The highlight has been working with compassionate partners, sharing their space and journey, and working for positive change.”
For John Lamerton, Colin’s greatest contribution wasn’t found in organisational funding milestones. “I think a lot of it comes down to the relationships he fostered with our partners,” John said. “His greatest legacy, and the beauty of what Colin has done, is the depth and quality of those connections.”
Colin’s legacy reached far beyond the work itself. He became like family to partners across continents, was welcomed into homes, and was deeply trusted.
As he prepared to step away from Global Mission Partners, Colin’s hope and prayer for his team was to stay committed to authentic partnership, local empowerment and the transformative opportunity to walk alongside others. “I hope we keep this model of partnership going, where we empower people to pursue what they feel called to do in their own context,” he said.
As Colin concludes this ministry in our network, he encourages churches across Australia to engage with Global Mission Partners as a pathway to practical mission that extends their heart for the world in both word and deed.
